How to Overcome Cognitive Biases: The Top 3 Methods

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Designing the Mind" by Designing the Mind and Ryan A Bush. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.

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Do you want to free your mind from psychological biases? Is it possible to be 100% free from bias?

While it’s not possible to be totally free from bias, you can actively work to reduce it with study and practice. As a result of overcoming your biases, you will view the world more objectively, make better decisions, and become less prone to anxiety fueled by biased thinking.

Keep reading to learn how to overcome cognitive biases.

How to Overcome Your Biases

To more accurately perceive reality, you need to learn how to overcome cognitive biases, which can be a difficult process because we typically struggle to see our own biases, even when we can recognize them in other people.

(Shortform note: The inability to recognize our own biases comes from a psychological phenomenon called naive realism: an egocentric bias in which we believe that our perception of reality represents objective truth. Thus, we assume that any perspective that contradicts our own is biased. Theoretically, as children develop and learn logical reasoning skills, their naive realism diminishes. In practice, however, many people are still limited by this bias into adulthood. This can lead to strong divisions over anything from debates among friends about the merits of a TV show to widespread conflicts over differing political views.) 

Let’s explore three ways to overcome biases: through mindfulness, self-study, and reflection.

Practice #1: Use Mindfulness to Overcome Biases

As we mentioned earlier, mindfulness practice can be a good way to start building awareness of your cognitive processes, including your biases. According to Bush, it allows you to focus your attention on patterns of thinking that would otherwise be automatic. 

Specific Practices for Using Mindfulness to Reduce Bias

Mindfulness helps you cultivate conscious awareness of yourself and the world around you, encouraging nonjudgmental observation and a commitment to regular introspection. As Bush suggests, this introspection may make identifying your personal biases and behavioral patterns easier as you get to know yourself better. Here are three mindfulness practices you can use to recognize your biases and change your biased behavior: 

1) Practice being aware of your emotions. Negative emotions that we often shy away from—like judgment, apathy, and fear—can be important indicators of biased thoughts and impulses.

2) Separate your sense of self from negative thought patterns. Mindfulness involves decentering your thoughts and emotions and recognizing that they don’t always represent the truth. When you recognize that your biased thoughts are temporary and not necessarily a reflection of who you are, you can more objectively examine them. 

3) Use a loving-kindness meditation. The Buddhist practice of loving-kindness involves wishing yourself, your loved ones, your enemies, and finally the whole world well. This meditation increases feelings of connectedness, and research shows that it substantially decreases unconscious bias toward marginalized groups. 

Practice #2: Use Self-Study to Overcome Biases 

Bush also advises learning about the most common biases so you can begin recognizing them in yourself. Study them using multiple sources, and familiarize yourself with the situations that normally trigger them. 

(Shortform note: Bush suggests self-studying cognitive biases as a way to begin overcoming them, but if you want a little more structure in your learning, consider taking a course on the topic. There are many online options on platforms like Udemy, and some universities also offer cognitive bias courses.)

How to Overcome Cognitive Biases: The Top 3 Methods

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  • How the mind can be reprogrammed like a computer
  • Strategies to help you change negative thought patterns, emotions, and behaviors
  • How to eliminate your biases to perceive reality more accurately

Darya Sinusoid

Darya’s love for reading started with fantasy novels (The LOTR trilogy is still her all-time-favorite). Growing up, however, she found herself transitioning to non-fiction, psychological, and self-help books. She has a degree in Psychology and a deep passion for the subject. She likes reading research-informed books that distill the workings of the human brain/mind/consciousness and thinking of ways to apply the insights to her own life. Some of her favorites include Thinking, Fast and Slow, How We Decide, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.

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